The Blog Single

Why Selling Beer Will Always Fetch Money.

God forbid, if they are killing people at Yaba bus stop in Lagos, people will drink beer at Jibowu in the same Yaba. There can never be enough beer parlours. More people are drinking and people are drinking more.

You do not believe me, go and have a look at the Profit and Loss account and the Balance sheet of Nigerian Breweries and Guinness. You cannot blame people drinking, things are hard and believe it or not, Nigerians are happy people. We know how to make ourselves happy and that is why we are tolerating all these inept governments.

In this biz, the day you open you start making money. Get your shop, two sets of tables and chairs. The joy is that you can take the drinks on credit and pay the following day. If you do not have a freezer, start with buying of ice blocks.

You will end there anyway with the present power supply. You need a good music set to give you a good start. TV reduces the sale of beer, music increases it. That is the law, do not break it. You may put on the TV during football matches to attract people, but generally those who

watch TV drink less. Because they have to use their eyes, TV takes their attention from the beer but good music stimulates drinking.

A generator will improve sale and luckily, there are small ones going for about N10, 000. Location must be accessible by car. In addition, you have to be nice to people.

Nobody wants to spend his money under stress when he made the money under stress. Support it with pepper soup to demand….Fish, Snail, Snake, yes Snake pepper soup. Study your customers they may like Cowhide with pepper.

Before you introduce a product, ask your customers. Do not be a jack-of- all-trades. If you want to pick fish, pick fish. Unless you are a limited liability company, you will need to join their association in your area, but then why not.

MARKETING. No fuss, the best advertisement is the word of mouth. Tell friends to tell their friends. As long as your service is good, they will come. If you do not see a regular customer for two days, phone him. The profit on a bottle will take care of that and he will drink more than a bottle when he resurfaces. Such customer will be glad you recognize him. Everybody wants to be recognized you know. During festivities, give presents to regulars.

CAVEAT. Never argue with a customer who has had one bottle too many. Placate him. Do not ever argue with any of them, drunk or not. In the beginning, if you drink beer, God save you, because it is only God who can save you. If you drink a bottle of Guilder, you have taken the profit on six bottles. Reserve your drinking until when your business can afford it. Do not inflate your customer’s bill. Be careful on cigarettes, it causes arguments. When in doubt, resolve in favor of your customer. He will come back. A liquor licence is necessary.